tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24170800248495576092024-03-05T18:34:00.714+00:00Home Brew in DonegalA regular wax lyrical on the totally interesting subject of Home Brew. From Donegal.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-24553952395268610412017-08-09T15:45:00.000+01:002017-08-09T15:53:07.267+01:00Best Bitter, for cask.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having brewed nothing at home for nearly a year, I’m making
up for it now. The same can be said for this blog. Nothing new for years, and
now I’ve a backlog of posts. Not because I’ve got more to say, necessarily, but
I’ve finally got the hang of separating the content. So, to tease, the next
couple of posts will include:</span></div>
<br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-_KJhMILPnN_ca3qnlpG87ygwKsq75BJxsKx3rbzgTALkhxll9RsycyDZwi9FxpekFe9l8Wm0zh9zxCwvmCVlvyMXJi6cV9p2BN073z0jdyb-hWjNYigWg27cnz62H8K9b8QEPpdCZE/s1600/bitter+pint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-_KJhMILPnN_ca3qnlpG87ygwKsq75BJxsKx3rbzgTALkhxll9RsycyDZwi9FxpekFe9l8Wm0zh9zxCwvmCVlvyMXJi6cV9p2BN073z0jdyb-hWjNYigWg27cnz62H8K9b8QEPpdCZE/s320/bitter+pint.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Toys for a Tenner: All the best toys for really keen
homebrewers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Great Gruit: Brewing with Kviek and some not-hops</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In good nick: Real ale, and how to get beer on the floor and
in your face</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Get pally at your local: Building an awesome bar from
pallets</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Onto the bitter. The recipe is similar to the last, because it
was really very good. The changes include swapping out some crystal malt for
Munich and Aromatic, simply because I wanted to try the Munich, and I was sent
more Aromatic than I needed, and less crystal because I wasn’t. In they go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a single hopped beer (not like that Double Hopped
madness from Diageo, Hophouse 13), in that it is bittered, flavoured and aromad
by Pilgrim. I’m nowhere near the end of the British hop list yet, so I’ve no
interest in American or NZ hops when there are still so many varieties to try
nearer to home. Pilgrim was described as "</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">deeply fruity, lemon/grapefruit aroma with flavour characteristics
including verdant, berries and pears. As a bittering hop it provides a
refreshing, full-bodied and rounded bitterness" by The Homebrew Company, and they
recommend its trial, so having enjoyed it in the first batch, I’ve stretched to
another packet of pellets for bittering. I need to use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> leaf hops to help filter out the trub etc, so the last
additions will be leaf, totalling about 70 grams (This is a double batch,
aiming for 44 litres in the fermenter). 70g won’t sound like much to many of
you, I’m sure, but this is a session beer, remember. Drinky drinky, not sippy
sippy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The yeast is a reconditioned Fuller’s bottle, and it’s being
stirred right up until pitching. This is its second run for me, and seems in
good condition, so I’m happy to pitch later this evening. It’ll be a two litre
starter, but I’ve no idea what that means in terms of yeast cell growth, as the
starting quantity was one metric dollop, and it’s viability unknown. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAZWb3yevoY0beErtOXQja-NJvYJS4OtFXmR-XkchPmcmozbTGtROCMIAVvqtwNvUTxU8IxuWIVeuhJ5e-bk4h-ogcrMJFawu2D1ocHh3NVYygayEsHz3L-13IXgRJXTiuVAaPLwm4J0/s1600/weighing+hops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAZWb3yevoY0beErtOXQja-NJvYJS4OtFXmR-XkchPmcmozbTGtROCMIAVvqtwNvUTxU8IxuWIVeuhJ5e-bk4h-ogcrMJFawu2D1ocHh3NVYygayEsHz3L-13IXgRJXTiuVAaPLwm4J0/s320/weighing+hops.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think the Fuller’s strain is WLP002, English Ale or
something, should you want to pay €8 for it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The recipe:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Minch pale (4-6srm) 5.8 kg</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Munich malt (<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>) 500g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crystal 40 (80), 300g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aromatic malt 200g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Torrefied wheat 500g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Water: down to 35ppm alkalinity, and added 10g CaSO4, 4g
CaCl. 22.5l, should give roughly 3:1 litres:kg. God only knows what the
Sulphate : Chloride ratio will end up, but going from experience it should be
roughly 2:1, with about 200 – 300 ppm sulphate, and half of that in Chloride.
That will leave plenty of Calcium for the yeast. Treated enough water to liquor
back at the end.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Temperature settled at 65oC, so should get the FG down to
1010. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The grist yielded 44 litres of 1046, with plenty more sugars
left to extract (sparge stopped at 1020). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Boil:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pilgrim (pellet) 10.3%aa, 42g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pilgrim (leaf) 10.4%aa, 35g (+ ¼ tablet protafloc)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pilgrim (leaf) 10.4%aa, 25g</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1 small handful added to cask. Book says so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPiBpMR3h79C1GnX7E0dUmexzKzs4jDDpjUzxgwkCK6Jp7sBzvFptTN7alPxPVgpBn6Z40y9ul-68A4bJcSXzguizxctzMp2y9s6KjO6PeBYqNt0DvFQJO4LCXlA_z_ThCZEC74rNqPk/s1600/dryhopping+ask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPiBpMR3h79C1GnX7E0dUmexzKzs4jDDpjUzxgwkCK6Jp7sBzvFptTN7alPxPVgpBn6Z40y9ul-68A4bJcSXzguizxctzMp2y9s6KjO6PeBYqNt0DvFQJO4LCXlA_z_ThCZEC74rNqPk/s320/dryhopping+ask.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wort is an excellent dark copper colour, which pleases
me. This was acheived by using a little chocolate malt the last time, but I
think I tasted it in the form of a little dryness, so to have this happen
accidentally from the Munich etc is a pleasant, though not entirely unexpected
surprise. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why am I bothered by the colour? The beer is to be served at
a wedding, alongside a locally brewed golden ale, and a locally brewed stout.
It’s nice to brew a beer that’s a different colour, and nobody wants to drink a
red ale all day: I speak from experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Result:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, about all I can remember is that it was delicious, very
popular, was lighter (colour) than I expected, and needed about another week
for some of the hop roughness to smooth out. However, an excellent beer, of
which many a pint was had. This was in contention with a locally brewed golden
ale and a stout, and they all pretty much emptied at the same moment, so I’m
pleased with the result.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not so pleased, however, that I won’t be adding back some
more crystal malt the next time!</span></div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-4566881730779646602017-03-30T15:24:00.001+01:002017-03-30T15:27:09.896+01:00Homebrewed is Best<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ2I1ITJYQOb40AfMigTQmSxaBU_6EZj1FWicq35UXiHEUfhUDBL1xfCMpQRGEUToJKaF_7bFKhIZGOvhNoZ-8m4N46XOS7VmrRJDvDIapWlId9RgE4E0gmfvj9_RVyZZn3etq5bBlgc/s1600/2017-03-30+08.31.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ2I1ITJYQOb40AfMigTQmSxaBU_6EZj1FWicq35UXiHEUfhUDBL1xfCMpQRGEUToJKaF_7bFKhIZGOvhNoZ-8m4N46XOS7VmrRJDvDIapWlId9RgE4E0gmfvj9_RVyZZn3etq5bBlgc/s320/2017-03-30+08.31.21.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>It’s nearly April, not that that means anything by itself,
</b>but I’ve wanted to brew a bitter for a while now. I reread <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/pete-brown/man-walks-into-a-pub" target="_blank">Pete Brown’s ‘ManWalks Into a Pub’</a>, an excellent book on the evolution of the British public
house, and frankly that made me very thirsty. I’ve also been reading <a href="http://www.doghousemagazine.co.uk/" target="_blank">TheDoghouse</a>, a pub-based periodical from Ludlow, who
also run a micropub from the same office. Fancied a pint.
</div>
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But no, I’ve wanted to brew a bitter since before then, too.
I meant to brew one for the Belfast CAMRA ale festival in November, but missed
the deadline by some months. On paper I’d been messing around with a recipe
(mainly hop and yeast selection, and a standard malt bill), and so as far back
as probably July I’ve been thinking about Bitter.</div>
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<br />
Bitter is my favourite beer style of all, and it just
doesn’t seem to exist in great quantities in Ireland, apart from my occasional
trip to Wetherspoons in Derry, where it is served on handpull. It’s time to
brew one for the house, for my own set of beer pumps.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrHxcIPVmpRrzSPFcZ4Cw-hp39xuWbjJmBI7T1Sj3-kt3beHbSaqiAC_B2RKp-cDRT0eGFdpzbJI2iEbnuuK_nyGXbd9RkwWtPQxtWrvigWsHEAO846mRRPtrLqAdNVL5lTgXQhqfxBo/s1600/2017-03-30+09.43.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrHxcIPVmpRrzSPFcZ4Cw-hp39xuWbjJmBI7T1Sj3-kt3beHbSaqiAC_B2RKp-cDRT0eGFdpzbJI2iEbnuuK_nyGXbd9RkwWtPQxtWrvigWsHEAO846mRRPtrLqAdNVL5lTgXQhqfxBo/s200/2017-03-30+09.43.27.jpg" width="150" /></a> </div>
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The recipe is fairly standard, except that I’ve used a lot
more wheat than usual, as I want to really nail the head retention this time.
I’m also watching the calcium content for the same reason. The brewing
guidelines I’m using today come from Nigel Sadler’s book <a href="http://www.learn2brew.co.uk/craftbrewingbook.htm" target="_blank">‘Notes on Craft AleBrewing’</a>. It’s and excellent reference book, full of calculations and science,
and has helped fill in a few gaps that other books have missed. The ‘rules’
that I’m specifically adhereing to are the water guidelines, hop rates and
method, yeast pitching rates and so on. If you’ve read the <a href="http://www.brewerspublications.com/brewing-elements-series/" target="_blank">Brewing Elements</a>
series, then I can recommend this book too, though it’s more use as a
postscript than an introduction.</div>
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The yeast comes from the dregs of a bottle of Fuller’s IPA.
Yeast culturing is something I haven’t had a proper go at yet, normally opting
for sachets of dry yeast (I see nothing wrong with dry yeast, except for the lack
of variety, which Mangrove Jacks have gone some way towards rectifying) or the
slightly more expensive liquid options. WhiteLabs are fantastic; their standard
range, plus the Platinum seasonals, strange new yeasts and bacteria thanks to
Yeast Bay, and now even rarer yeasts WhiteLabs ‘the Vault’, it’s a great time
to be a homebrewer. However, in the microbrewery, it’s nearly ten times as
expensive (or thereabouts, nobody will actually give me a proper price) to buy
liquid as dry, for the quantity I need, so I wanted to do a few trials of the
stirplate first. I couldn’t be happier with my first effort! The idea is to buy
an €8 vial of WhiteLabs and culture it up to the 750g yeast that I need for a
brew. This will open up a world of yeast for use in the brewery, without the
increased cost.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxyU59pU-wzoGJ3HLQ-wC-dMe2mBgcof3cDNpdYTUXGc1zRy6dKJV85DV8fo0Nm8j89j0itTF5Ibo0V8usIww9QOaNFq5K9DnKuxcfazRsFdDQYS4WLU9SdNB7XVkoR6_HPp2w2vVYAY/s1600/2017-03-30+09.42.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxyU59pU-wzoGJ3HLQ-wC-dMe2mBgcof3cDNpdYTUXGc1zRy6dKJV85DV8fo0Nm8j89j0itTF5Ibo0V8usIww9QOaNFq5K9DnKuxcfazRsFdDQYS4WLU9SdNB7XVkoR6_HPp2w2vVYAY/s320/2017-03-30+09.42.01.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just like cats, homebrewers know the warmest places in the
house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Instructions for making a stirplate and starter are readily
available online, and I made mine for nothing, using stuff I had lying about
the house. One of the options to consider is one magnet or two. That decision
was made for me by misplacing one of the pair. The magnet sits in the centre of
the computer fan, and works fine. I expect both ways have their merits.
Practice using your stirplate with a glass of water first, to see what stirbar
size and speed etc will do. I bought a packet of stirbars in various sizes from
eBay, which gives me plenty of options, from the tictac sized stirbar for small
starters, through liquorice torpedo sized, onto half-a-fudge, which should works
in a demijohn. </div>
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<br />
Just FYI, then, I added 200ml of 1.020 unhopped wort to the
dregs of a bottle of Fuller’s IPA, stirred that, increased that to 500ml at
1.030, then one more step to 2 litres of 1.040. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfMXeRhK2-O8ncm0sAnBPmORrwwyJN3QNSCxF-Yk-bSpFtBqry5x3IvWn_pR0q_CW66Pe7YwtFtBCpdnrITWz9TouWJCnKFcN-Ze6WCbm4J4MrteOt_wMKFGBUzLTrNP7ZIS0Q-ytcs0/s1600/2017-03-30+10.19.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfMXeRhK2-O8ncm0sAnBPmORrwwyJN3QNSCxF-Yk-bSpFtBqry5x3IvWn_pR0q_CW66Pe7YwtFtBCpdnrITWz9TouWJCnKFcN-Ze6WCbm4J4MrteOt_wMKFGBUzLTrNP7ZIS0Q-ytcs0/s320/2017-03-30+10.19.28.jpg" width="320" /></a>The recipe itself is standard enough:</div>
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Pale, 3240g (81%)</div>
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Crystal 80, 320g (8%)</div>
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Wheat malt, 400g (10%)</div>
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Chocolate Malt, 40g (1%) for colour adjustment – I’ve been
drinking golden beers for ages</div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
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Mashed at 67oc, with water adjusted to<br />
<40ppm alkalinity,<br />
150ppm Chloride,<br />
300ppm Sulphate, and<br />
100 - 200ppm
Calcium.<br />
Spargewater the same.</div>
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<br />
Copper volume, 24litres at 1038, should give me a 20 litre
ferment at 1040.</div>
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Northdown 6% to bitter, to 30IBU (29g pellets)</div>
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Pilgrim 10% at 15 minutes, 15 grams, and ten more at
flameout. Some protafloc at 15, too.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yeast, Fuller’s IPA (I hope it’s not a lager strain used for
bottle conditioning, now I’ve gone to all that effort!). Pitched the fresh slurry at 22oc, god knows how much or how little, but </div>
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Tasting notes to come.</div>
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brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-48050560449295193352016-03-31T23:01:00.000+01:002016-04-08T04:45:58.020+01:00Sparklers<span style="font-size: large;">I'm wading in with sparklers. I've had some sort of beer blog for long enough now, I've earned it.</span><br />
<br />
Pride of place in my rudimentary home bar is my Higene beer engine. Pride of place at the end of the swan-neck is a sparkler! I've read almost every other blog post and forum thread on these plastic things so far and I can't summon a third of the passion for <i>anything</i> that most drinkers have for one side of the argument or the other. As I see it, it's horses for courses. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR76plxvbV_O8fSddsCtSHB4U18SqeVN0iS4gmDhW9sQvMld9cpPlSPSnG5dkl8IApH4s0XB2OZ7plpZ5tDsH5SkBsnXKCpn3MwB-nt9JYIVcOeH-mL0uLhVrWDXwQBpF7kUnTe6vGZLeF/s1600/P1100627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR76plxvbV_O8fSddsCtSHB4U18SqeVN0iS4gmDhW9sQvMld9cpPlSPSnG5dkl8IApH4s0XB2OZ7plpZ5tDsH5SkBsnXKCpn3MwB-nt9JYIVcOeH-mL0uLhVrWDXwQBpF7kUnTe6vGZLeF/s1600/P1100627.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small, loose sparkler.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>No sparkler: </b>Brewer's choice, drinker's choice. Doesn't knock out much carbonation, fluffy head. If the beer is hoppy, it will still be hoppy. The southern pour.<br />
<br />
<b>Loose Sparkler (r):</b> Quarters the beer. Much the same as not using a sparkler, really.<br />
<br />
<b>Angram Sparkler: </b>These sparklers come in a variety of colours, with each having 16 holes of different sizes: green has holes of 1mm diameter, black 0.8mm, and white with holes at 0.6mm. There is a <i>lot</i> of resistance in the smaller holes. I just tried to blow through one of each.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.angramltd.com/angram/uploads/medium/sparklers_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.angramltd.com/angram/uploads/medium/sparklers_0.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angram sparklers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The green Sparkler is 'known' as the southern one, while the black one is known as the northern, for Yorkshire style beers. Interestingly, the only reference I have seen for a red sparkler, states that it is for Burton Style beers. Maybe it knocks out some of the sulphates.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIciuJ4nk8QCat8Z796nuWniZzBEPjLHZP-kkXsNGF5bRUUrUJMr4e3egQljsh2XFdoUFNimoZU5WKGWRWcyDDw6yhz5udpOrIPpyisbvKWYalihOVsNsL6NNJH32fVshi28Kq7uYhR4/s1600/beer+engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIciuJ4nk8QCat8Z796nuWniZzBEPjLHZP-kkXsNGF5bRUUrUJMr4e3egQljsh2XFdoUFNimoZU5WKGWRWcyDDw6yhz5udpOrIPpyisbvKWYalihOVsNsL6NNJH32fVshi28Kq7uYhR4/s320/beer+engine.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I bought four Angram beer engines for an indecently small sum. One
was marked 'Irish Stout', and had, firmly welded to the swanneck by old
beer, a white sparkler. This, I presume*, pours with a thick, creamy head, as you'd expect on a pint of draught Guinness. Pub gas (a mix of nitrogen and carbon dioxide) was 'invented' to mimic
hand-pulled beers, without the fuss of decent cellermanship.This mix delivers the likes of Guinness and creamflow beers with a low dose of carbon dioxide, making a smooth, creamy drink. Also known as nitrokeg.<br />
<br />
The serving discussion should include the type of spout, of which there are two, swan neck and short. The swan neck is used with the sparkler, placed at the bottom of the glass, where there is a nib at the end of the sparkler to keep the holes about a centimetre off the bottom of the glass. This generates a lot of swirling cloud that settles up into the thick head and a crystal clear beer. Incidentally, the Guinness style cascading bubbles thing? Not unique to Guinness at all. The short spout allows the beer to fall into the glass, generating a nice, loose, bubbly head.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Sparkler-Dispensing.jpg/150px-Sparkler-Dispensing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Sparkler-Dispensing.jpg/150px-Sparkler-Dispensing.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not like this! Aaargh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There is a lot more to the spout thing than I could hope to explain. It's about the drop in pressure as the beer exits the spout, and how this releases the carbon dioxide and so on. There's some chemistry involved with the oxidation process, too, I read, though I find that hard to believe simply because of the low temperatures and short times involved in this. People keep spouting stuff about how the beer aerates as it goes into the glass, and develops extra flavour. If anyone pours my pint like <--- <i>that</i>, they'll be pouring me a-bloody-nother.<br />
<br />
In all, I have absolutely no preference, though I have noticed the beer is a little more bitter without the sparkler. I only own swannecks for now, and I hope to buy a short spout for one of the Angrams, just so I can see if there's a difference, but it's pretty low on my list of priorities.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://rushmorecellarandbar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SparklerExamples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rushmorecellarandbar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SparklerExamples.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a>For completeness, here are a variety of sparklers, including some fancy ones for soft drinks!<br />
<br />
<br />
*I'll be brewing a stout soon enough, and can't wait to try it
through a sparkled beer engine. I read elsewhere that the sparkler
vastly improves the maltier beer styles.<br />
<br />brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-61286664349920107702015-12-07T23:56:00.005+00:002015-12-07T23:56:54.461+00:00Carbon Footprint of your Home BrewI've actually worked this out in one of my notebooks. It turned out to be a pretty hefty figure. I've only worked it out for the sugars consumed in the beer, for example, a five gallon batch of 1040 OG beer, fermented to 1011, will produce about 1kgof carbon dioxide. I agree, it sounds like a lot, but that's science for you. <br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/jun/04/carbon-footprint-beer">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/jun/04/carbon-footprint-beer</a><br />
<br />
Weep as you add in the airmiles of your beautiful American hops...<br />
<br />
Cascade is grown in the UK, if you can get it, though it's mostly under contract. Still a lot of miles for your beer. Buying, growing, picking and using local is the only answer. To look about growing your own hops, here's a handy link!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gyohops.blogspot.ie/">www.gyohops.blogspot.ie</a><br />
<br />
If I can do it in northernmost Ireland...brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-59491624642326359372015-07-14T21:12:00.002+01:002015-07-14T21:12:23.511+01:00Beer engine happiness.<span style="font-size: large;">I suffer from chronic nostalgia when beer is concerned.</span> I absolutely love beer engines and the velvet beers they dispense, even though I only had my first pint of cask about 5 years ago. But in my<i> mind</i> I've been an old flat-capper for decades. This is why I had to buy a beer engine from the internet.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpE4YgZznz7xdyD9LtkcvHioAdqtO0APWQ6Rp4piDU3IF3V73XQjydEY2DoqefX2AtNkmJXm-4_s8xClRGvx8WMww_FzfO21T52nsm04-kZvuneqd3aOlvX7zGwPaadRUmO7IR4RGRGQ/s1600/beer+engine+tall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpE4YgZznz7xdyD9LtkcvHioAdqtO0APWQ6Rp4piDU3IF3V73XQjydEY2DoqefX2AtNkmJXm-4_s8xClRGvx8WMww_FzfO21T52nsm04-kZvuneqd3aOlvX7zGwPaadRUmO7IR4RGRGQ/s320/beer+engine+tall.jpg" width="128" /></a>Ebay is a fantastic source of everything. I got mine about two years ago, from some pub somewhere or something. I don't know. About £40 delivered, anyway. It worked fine for a year (that's about 3 brews), before it started pumping more beer out from the piston seal than it did from the spout. I finally ordered a new seal set for it last week.<br />
<br />
Seal kits are a little expensive. I'd say about the same as their weight in gold. Crap for a few bits of rubber. But they are very unique bits of rubber, and at £28 delivered, you'll soon realise you'll make the money back in sheer joy at not having to wipe the carpet after every pour.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to go mad on the detail here, but hopefully the following pictures will help you see what's inside of a Higene beer engine.<br />
<br />
The key is to put it back together EXACTLY as you took it apart. Take photos or draw or arrange neatly on a table. Mostly it's fairly simple, but the cylinder needs some care.<br />
<br />
If you buy one new and it's not working great, then force some water into it (with a hosepipe is best), and let that sit for a while to loosen up the rubber seals a little. You might find it works fine. You'll still want it taken apart and cleaned. You'll see why when you do it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOIaVE-L6ao23JYnFeKJlE5jSwKhAZFFABmTDFdjVUo_zXwQ0v6FWqFWgozzRzcQo7Shw0-Nsi64yD8gdZoOG1zsLNXGI3WFSWv9DQ5fOuXRMoo1x2vcHDUfi5RCFI80R9tuB8ah3TwQ/s1600/handle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOIaVE-L6ao23JYnFeKJlE5jSwKhAZFFABmTDFdjVUo_zXwQ0v6FWqFWgozzRzcQo7Shw0-Nsi64yD8gdZoOG1zsLNXGI3WFSWv9DQ5fOuXRMoo1x2vcHDUfi5RCFI80R9tuB8ah3TwQ/s320/handle.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpx7J5nOPdrEvybeS263uVAYnvQVHOZcvdy6xygWzngZsjq6xMtz-4VWGfCye3ZZEXPLBpxbFdmpPC_r8koQfJG9RWAXw246FeFjUQdulMPzK3ToT2TWGFnU2Fadh1fi8Pfn7avKxwLk/s1600/rear+of+enging.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpx7J5nOPdrEvybeS263uVAYnvQVHOZcvdy6xygWzngZsjq6xMtz-4VWGfCye3ZZEXPLBpxbFdmpPC_r8koQfJG9RWAXw246FeFjUQdulMPzK3ToT2TWGFnU2Fadh1fi8Pfn7avKxwLk/s320/rear+of+enging.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've replaced the pipe from the top of the cylinder with a 3/8" JG to 3/8" stem (elbow) and a shorter piece of braided hose. It works much better than the bit of kinked hose, and the original hose was black with age.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QkesKQT_jdIJ9D5YHbc3WlRCM_Qich8aIsXwUM7pbo7yXBAzpDSlxnZbHjfgXZKO_GGEpuH357B8x1kmOd-BLxP9yjGw591e73A_Rpj7HghHW9oNhn4DrxEF3JELhYPqmJX-tqdyVC8/s1600/cylinderdiagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QkesKQT_jdIJ9D5YHbc3WlRCM_Qich8aIsXwUM7pbo7yXBAzpDSlxnZbHjfgXZKO_GGEpuH357B8x1kmOd-BLxP9yjGw591e73A_Rpj7HghHW9oNhn4DrxEF3JELhYPqmJX-tqdyVC8/s640/cylinderdiagram.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Washer Left; curved edge facing down/trench upwards, second washer (big & brown) above that, kept in place by the third washer, and the fourth just floats somewhere up the piston rod. I bought the seal kit and was horrified to see that the brown washers start life transparent. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CA90ViapNTXXZgYVmCH91uFlvBxjeDNScpOGaCoJfkaQQXwRbRV7mvqlERe6wUD2AlwVAqQ_ggZ0jfaWQLiXvN3ttvQ_z3heMiawjHIMYW3S0_QOvbPYy8WDrLI3GIvqkksYghNvfAc/s1600/stage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CA90ViapNTXXZgYVmCH91uFlvBxjeDNScpOGaCoJfkaQQXwRbRV7mvqlERe6wUD2AlwVAqQ_ggZ0jfaWQLiXvN3ttvQ_z3heMiawjHIMYW3S0_QOvbPYy8WDrLI3GIvqkksYghNvfAc/s320/stage1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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These pictures really aren't in any order. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxIhEO8jghtZ5XaiW0JaH5Z1sO7FrSkI8sRV8vZiqdI_6lopT14PHN6-r4AREZ3-TgcjSbRCU33SH_7NWxYdpAxBFNfuEQcxHIRaxJUiAeCNU-Z0Yl7LzpK7UMtgkGMGgS49a5-rQf8Q/s1600/volumeadjust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxIhEO8jghtZ5XaiW0JaH5Z1sO7FrSkI8sRV8vZiqdI_6lopT14PHN6-r4AREZ3-TgcjSbRCU33SH_7NWxYdpAxBFNfuEQcxHIRaxJUiAeCNU-Z0Yl7LzpK7UMtgkGMGgS49a5-rQf8Q/s320/volumeadjust.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
If yours isn't pulling a full measure, then adjusting the thing in the picture above will sort it out, after a little trial and error. Or just pull another bit out.<br />
<br />
The key is to swear a lot when putting it back together.<br />
<br />
When fixing it to your bar (what do you mean you don't have a bar?) it will be quite rough on whatever the bar top is made of. Not in a scratchy way, but in a "if your bar top is not nailed down properly it's coming off" kind of way. Also, it only goes half -way on, so cutting a slot out of your bar top will support it better, but it's not strictly necessary. I'll post some pictures of my bar towards the end of summer.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-13410819816709588622015-01-06T17:56:00.001+00:002015-12-08T00:02:16.971+00:00Eyes on the prize... Yeast handlingWhat's that thing you say about wise men, or the more you know the more you whatever? Well, the same applies in brewing. I've spent the last four years honing my brew kit, my mash efficiency, bottling and kegging, recipes and above all else speed, or brewday efficiency. I'm getting the hang of it now, I think. However, one thing still stands in my way; taking good care of my yeast.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/S_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopy.jpg/240px-S_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/S_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopy.jpg/240px-S_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopy.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
My process has been honed over the years, as I've improved my recipe design, mashing, boiling, hop <span id="goog_394841168"></span><span id="goog_394841169"></span>additions and all the processes in between and after (bottling and kegging, serving temp, condition). The intermediate step, fermentation, is all down to the yeast. Mishandled yeast can, at best, behave a little odd, throw out some unusual flavours, or take a while to start or stop. Sometimes a poorly treated yeast will give you some <i>bad</i> flavours and aromas. I've got to the point now where that kind of thing is no longer tolerable, and it's apparently bad form to blame the yeast. Acetaldehyde (green apples), Diacetyl (butterscotch), solvents (pear drop esters at best, nail polish remover at worst) phenols (smokiness or pepperiness) and some rubbery aromas if allowed to die and disintegrate in the wort. <br />
<br />
So, in the same way as I developed my other brewing skills, I'm now paying some close attention to my yeast. I <i>do</i> have a microscope, but haven't been able to use it properly yet, as I can't get hold of Haemocytometer plates. Nevertheless:<br />
<br />
1: Pitching rates- at it's simplest, for a standard strength ale (up to SG. 1060) a single sachet of dried brewers yeast will work fine. For a lager, buy two. They're not expensive. Rehydration can take place before, or by addition to the cooled wort. Rehydration advice found here: <a href="http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf">http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_S04.pdf</a><br />
<br />
For wet yeast (or liquid yeast) I believe one vial treated well will work for a standard strength ale, and again cough up for two if you're brewing a lager, but preparing a starter is the best treatment here. <br />
<br />
Repitching yeast from a previous batch (slurry) can help reduce the cost of buying two or more sachets or a vial. Depending on how fussy the yeast, or how obvious it will be in the final beer, I'll either pitch straight onto the yeast cake in the fermenter, or scoop some out (in a sanitary manner) for use later.You wouldn't pitch a pale beer straight onto a stout yeast cake, for example.<br />
<br />
2: Temperature- best not to pitch while too hot, or to have a temperature jump from yeast temperature to wort, or large fluctuations in temperature during fermentation (with the exception of a specific fermentation profile, like crash cooling, Diacetyl rests or increasing temperature for Belgian style beers or for attenuation). Also, keep the beer at a suitable temperature for the beer. Warmer temperatures tend to create more esters, while cooler fermentations, though slower, produce a cleaner beer.<br />
<br />
Most beers ales are fine fermented between 16 and 20 degrees C, but do check. Also, picking yeast best suited to your actual ambient temperatures can work. WLP029 Kolsch yeast is a warm lager yeast, fermenting a clean beer at ale temperatures, and I've got Nottingham to work quite well at quite low temperatures.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.humboldtmfg.com/product-images/H-4917.250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.humboldtmfg.com/product-images/H-4917.250.jpg" /></a>3: Style- pick a yeast suited to the beer style brewed. I'm spending a few extra euros for wet yeasts, of which there is a much wider variety. Spending more money on Saaz and brewing water adjustments, pilsner malts and making space in the fridge is a waste without the perfect yeast for the job*. That's not to say that good beers can't be brewed with other yeasts, of course. Stout brewed with Belgian yeast, IPA with Brett, <br />
<br />
My next step is to make a stir plate (read here for the reason I chose not to <a href="http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=70926">http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=70926</a>), and aquire some Erlenmyer flasks in order to make some starters a few days in advance. I've bought a pressure cooker to sterilise wort in jars, and then I'll feel I've really got the hang of brewing.<br />
<br />
*And for this prize of which I mention in the title, the yeast is Vermont IPA yeast (Conan). This is being fermented warm in my specially designed fermentation chamber (which has cost about a tenner to make from begged stolen and borrowed gizmos). The beer is an America IPA for the Galway brewer's competition. It didn't make it in, after all, but I enjoyed drinking it, I suppose.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-35234131264531301582014-04-04T22:57:00.003+01:002014-04-09T15:06:56.148+01:00Sluggish Hop PlantsIf your hop plant isn't really taking off
already, for example the buds are still at ground level, check the soil
for Vine Weevil larvae. These small white grubs, about the size of a two
cent coin, eat through the roots around the main plant, and leave your
plant struggling to grow. I found 25 in one pot. One is too many.<br />
<br />
The
pictures below are of the larvae and of the damage that they do. They
leave behind a light orange sawdust, and severed rhizomes.<br />
<br />
To check your hop:<br />
1 - give the stump a wiggle. If it's loose then you probably have a problem.<br />
2
- Dig around the plant. It won't mind. It knows it's for the greater
good. They're really easy to spot, bright white against the soil. They
will mostly be within the top inch or two (deeper if you mulched like a
good boy/girl).<br />
3 - If you find any, do your best to dig around the
whole plant where the soil feels loose and pick them all out. Destroy
them by squashing or drowning.<br />
4 - While you're there, pick out
anything else that isn't a worm. Leatherjackets (weird fleshy brown
tubes, the larvae of Daddy Long Legs), slugs and millipedes (the black
ones). <br />
5 - check the soil before you put any back, or better still, replace it with fresh compost.<br />
<br />
Do it now while the hop is still feeding on it's rootstock. Don't worry about little white roots. <br />
<br />
Fundamental critter rule: If it's slow, it's got to go. If it's fast, ... something something last. <br />
<br />
It's
April 4th, and most of my hop plants are putting out bull-shoots and
several other smaller shoots, so the ones that are struggling are pretty
conspicuous in their sluggishness. Check them or you'll get no hops.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="bbc_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlF8SlS3W1StIkU-W6y2Q6b0L_gFYLoZpA1yTRCJkYPEyFGAem58q4k91sfQUHS0TEz9NmCVnQVLstuSHrc431Wu9ka_eu16E8Unt-E4DjzkfrJzGS0Fkfenyhpzyj4GjWZwLTC0E7FiE/s1600/chaferdamagerhizome.jpg" height="640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="bbc_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw_c2YB0pZExYEeFApOVVnyTLq5XHevESKtHVM8RzID6R_oJlYrk1Sx7PBClZNHmuq5LEH8yPhdJKIhIgHVB2SMzsMHwWYDKfv6L51emT_Ul5nqAzZ8yox1YVEVHpwvtoCzBS-bKEon57/s1600/chafergrubs.jpg" height="228" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vine Weevile Larvae. AaaaaarGH!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
If you have them in one pot, you're likely to have them in all. Check! They seem to prefer pots to plants in the ground, so far...brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-23613012501929813432014-04-03T22:36:00.001+01:002014-04-03T22:38:25.525+01:00Hop Plant Bull ShootsIt's the time of year when hops start having big ideas again. Two sunny days and they're OFF!<br />
<br />
You may have heard about 'trimming the first gamey shoots', or 'removing the bull shoots' and not been clear which they are. Well, here's a photo. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfog1RQMGs9vHQovVb-MMt9O6x4adLaZq058QyMbdjjIEH9YrnPmfzU2ltr8g58gwqSY89hXrh3lzlrEszjGuIr7Es5vqNnRA0MBQG76sqOHPD3a06fswCzzsQZtgvwoLIaOyykPoT2Q/s1600/bullshoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfog1RQMGs9vHQovVb-MMt9O6x4adLaZq058QyMbdjjIEH9YrnPmfzU2ltr8g58gwqSY89hXrh3lzlrEszjGuIr7Es5vqNnRA0MBQG76sqOHPD3a06fswCzzsQZtgvwoLIaOyykPoT2Q/s1600/bullshoot.jpg" height="400" width="227" /></a></div>
<br />
The bull shoot is about 6 inches long where the others are barely an inch. In this photo, of a second year First Gold, there are two bullshoots that are both over half a foot. After this photograph was taken I cut them back to ground level in order to let the others grow. Eventually I will select only two or three of these to grow on, and snip back the rest.<br />
<br />
Bull shoots are no good as the internodal distance, or gaps between the leaves are quite large. Seeing as the cones are produced here, in order to get a higher yield you need more nodes, which you get in the later shoots.<br />
<br />
For now though, that is all you need to do with the hops. The second set of shoots will grow at a steadier pace, so you've nothing more to do this week.<br />
<br />
<i>Next job: Putting the bines to string.</i><br />
For more information on hop growing, visit:<br />
<a href="http://www.gyohops.blogspot.ie/">www.gyohops.blogspot.ie</a><br />
This picture was taken on 3rd April.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-36267852686412843982014-03-02T13:25:00.001+00:002014-03-02T15:12:14.870+00:00Judging at the National Homebrew Club competitionIt's a tough job but someone's got to do it!<br />
<br />
1st March, St. David's Day, and I've to catch the 0430 bus to Dublin. It's a long trip down, but it's the last in the series of my journey to becoming a judge. It's been emotional.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfvwtLc3-kum5h8sDvFcoDgVS2PZyqensNxVixBIw0Db1KQaZ0x8krUtfcUwGNLhbUPpq2wOGOPOTRgOPBUGz2K20lM02MVDYcPmOsDidTlpu3S7wLRNJZl8UcK79g7icRAKpKoeYYPY/s1600/judging+flight+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfvwtLc3-kum5h8sDvFcoDgVS2PZyqensNxVixBIw0Db1KQaZ0x8krUtfcUwGNLhbUPpq2wOGOPOTRgOPBUGz2K20lM02MVDYcPmOsDidTlpu3S7wLRNJZl8UcK79g7icRAKpKoeYYPY/s1600/judging+flight+1.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last beer before lunch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The day started with registration; getting your name badge and picking what you want for lunch. I was asked to judge category 10A, American Pale Ales, so sat down at a table next to Sarah, owner of the new N17 brewery in Tuam. It was a pleasure to judge alongside Sarah, who certainly knows her stuff. We were within 2 or 3 marks on all beers, so allocating a score was fairly straightforward.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4zw_bgYnIz5LasQH3k9_3R74TIek6UlBZqWv4sz8H28l4lXNa-ekQcCKxl3h8T1-4NsbcdEOTdAHkf6lpjwcx26OP_2mvAMebySaL58-7xsIuTJhSUBPOFEbM-mWLaOok1DHHSibRqM/s1600/best+of+show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4zw_bgYnIz5LasQH3k9_3R74TIek6UlBZqWv4sz8H28l4lXNa-ekQcCKxl3h8T1-4NsbcdEOTdAHkf6lpjwcx26OP_2mvAMebySaL58-7xsIuTJhSUBPOFEbM-mWLaOok1DHHSibRqM/s1600/best+of+show.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">miniBOS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we'd judged our flights, a total of 9 beers, I think Sarah went and found the Stout table and I settled amongst the American IPAs - as if I hadn't already had all the hops I could take!<br />
<br />
The judging was quite easy in terms of picking which beers suited the style more than others, but filling in all the spaces was a little tricky on some scoresheets. I hope the information I put in is useful to the brewers.<br />
<br />
After that I sat down to clear my palate and head for the mini Best Of Show round, which took place once all the category 10 beers had been judged. That left me and Ronan about 18 beers to sort through and pick the best. <br />
<br />
Sorting through 18 beers to quickly asses which deserves to go through to the Best Of Show in Cork was like drinking 18 shots of beer. The aul head was spinning by the end of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlcSrfPwpRZn15DPvMjREl_i-O6-YFg1ThiA2LmPqTdLTKrwf1kzY0kIW5PZMuu6P9863gqinnNthu53izD03q6bJOx9GSeCWN2dtiJpeAWBA_W2MzMi9zwgVh3pk8HdVO0MfrbIrW1o/s1600/silver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlcSrfPwpRZn15DPvMjREl_i-O6-YFg1ThiA2LmPqTdLTKrwf1kzY0kIW5PZMuu6P9863gqinnNthu53izD03q6bJOx9GSeCWN2dtiJpeAWBA_W2MzMi9zwgVh3pk8HdVO0MfrbIrW1o/s1600/silver.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
As bus o'clock drew rapidly nearer, the silver medal in category 1 was announced, and it was me! A quick gulp of champagne, a handshake or two and I ran off out the room, up the street with a big grin on my face!<br />
<br />
I had a fantastic time. The taxi driver who took me to the bus at 4am asked me if I was getting paid for judging, or even getting travel allowances. To be honest, with all those lovely beers, people and the craic, I'd <em>nearly </em>consider paying for the privilege of judging again. Thanks to Renier, our steward, as well as all the other stewards who helped us in the miniBOS. <br />
<br />
<strong>What a day.</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
Interested in being a part of Ireland's biggest homebrew community?<br />
<a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/">www.nationalhomebrewclub.com</a>brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-80898874710466621382014-02-05T13:29:00.001+00:002014-02-05T13:29:43.940+00:00One Step Closer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHacJcCXxa_xC_tO7CtU8jXorwJRGf-sEirgypuk8XYULJQXomnldjaSKba1BnJoElnsUn0o8SS2idPL6o8w94tNNdibFKzfbOtxU86N3m85qSZlae4YG-JkvEMeJfGqc2d0F_H0Xbx4/s1600/examsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHacJcCXxa_xC_tO7CtU8jXorwJRGf-sEirgypuk8XYULJQXomnldjaSKba1BnJoElnsUn0o8SS2idPL6o8w94tNNdibFKzfbOtxU86N3m85qSZlae4YG-JkvEMeJfGqc2d0F_H0Xbx4/s1600/examsmall.jpg" /></a>This morning I passed the BJCP online exam. It's a 200 questions in 1 hour exam, with questions usually about style comparisons, or what elements you'd expect in a beer style.<br />
<br />
I answered all the questions, although I'm quite sure not all of them were right. The Multiple Choice Multiple Answer questions were tricky enough.<br />
<br />
To celebrate I'm drinking a small glass of under-carbonated and under-attenuated Irish Red Ale, which clearly demonstrates that good at theory is <i>not</i> good at practice.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I'm now a Provisional Judge, ready to take the tasting exam in Dublin this weekend.<br />
<br />
What does one wear to a tasting exam, when it coincides with a Welsh-Irish 6Nations rugby match... brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-27508011683059339522014-01-21T13:19:00.000+00:002014-01-21T13:19:32.578+00:00Happy New Year again.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This must be my fourth or fifth new year as a homebrewer by now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, thanks to anyone who got in touch this past year to leave comments or ask questions. I hope I was helpful, and will try to do more of the same this year. To that end I'm:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a few weeks off becoming a <a href="http://www.bjcp.org/" target="_blank">BJCP</a> approved beer judge</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">putting my name on the judging list for the NHC </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">taking an online course in Beer Chemistry from <a href="https://janux.ou.edu/landing/" target="_blank">Oklahoma University</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">still brewing many and varied beer styles</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.gyohops.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">growing ingredients</a> to make some very personal beer</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But I won't be doing the following:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a dry January.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Firstly, and with huge thanks to certain members of the <a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/" target="_blank">National Homebrew Club</a> here in Ireland (with a supporting part played by Bus Eirann), I'm well on my way to becoming a beer judge. With only a few more weeks until the beer tasting exam (with no less than BJCP President Gordon Strong as proctor), I've to continue tasting beers (harder work than it sounds) and sit an hour-long online exam.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, I'll continue to feel out-of-my-depth learning about beer biochemistry, with words like Polysaccharides and 1,4 - alpha linkages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX1waeySRB9nQN4PvZWn1uUQaWZc6kdGNg-eaocC0Q65poDXSB8hj1nda7N__r18B_sKbg4Xw1cvJUaa4EjaSqR7FP1cC1hr8NgbyaNFDu7sA6ng0s3bAskIJsoxV_dvvpiTq5T_YzPw/s1600/brewingbotanicals+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX1waeySRB9nQN4PvZWn1uUQaWZc6kdGNg-eaocC0Q65poDXSB8hj1nda7N__r18B_sKbg4Xw1cvJUaa4EjaSqR7FP1cC1hr8NgbyaNFDu7sA6ng0s3bAskIJsoxV_dvvpiTq5T_YzPw/s1600/brewingbotanicals+copy.png" height="275" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewing Botanicals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've beer to brew, including some for the March 1st Nationals held by the National Homebrew Club in Dublin, and I've been promised a Brewferm Mash Kit by <a href="http://www.homebrewwest.ie/" target="_blank">HomebrewWest.ie</a> to review. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, I'll be growing Yarrow, Wormwood, Sage, Tansy, Hops, Bog Myrtle and so on, in order to make the most interesting beer Mov-town has <i>ever</i> tasted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For now though, I'm going to finish up my notes on Lipids, have a cup of tea, and think about the next blog post: "How to be come a Beer Judge".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you find any of the above interesting, there's a good chance I'll mention it some more in the following posts. For now though,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy New Year.</span>brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-76310416217942279782013-12-04T07:54:00.002+00:002013-12-04T07:55:37.479+00:00Brewing Britain - Andy Hamilton<span style="font-size: large;">Congratulations to author and forager Andy Hamilton</span>, of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Booze-Free-Andy-Hamilton/dp/1905811705/ref=pd_sim_b_3" target="_blank">Booze for Free</a> fame, on the release of his latest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0593072405/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0593072405&linkCode=as2&tag=selfsufficien-21" target="_blank">Brewing Britain</a>. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0593072405/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0593072405&linkCode=as2&tag=selfsufficien-21" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0593072405/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0593072405&linkCode=as2&tag=selfsufficien-21" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.theotherandyhamilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/final2.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Available in all good book stores, and Amazon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Brewing Britain takes you on a trip through brewing history, buying and growing almost all of the ingredients, malting barley, and drying hops, and plenty more besides.<br />
<br />
But most of this is preamble to the main point of the book: brewing beers of the styles commonly found in Britain. Milds and Bitters, IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Saisons (!?) and the odd lager. These come with style notes, common ingredients, commercial examples with tasting notes and a series of tried and tested recipes for making your own classic example. <br />
<br />
To finish, Brewing Britain indexes a whole flight of beer festivals, all year round, for you to impart your hard won knowledge/try out your new skills. <br />
<br />
Oh, and I've got a beer in it!!<br />
<br />
The book would suit anyone with an interest in beer: from kit and all-grain brewer to Beer Sommelier and Real Ale Twat*. And it <em>is</em> coming up to Christmas… <br />
<br />
*Viz. That is, Viz, not viz. <br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-89119289808394375562013-12-02T19:09:00.001+00:002014-04-04T09:27:49.006+01:00Tiger Beer clone, all grain.<b>And a bit about mash pH lower down.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsVjkjOz4Ib_NiKmqTY5DwcAtcVtWmebt4tHTOPQjZG8I505kSMObXuGJznZYeruZg1p4Y3AywFpj5tJ-Q9rswwPiDy7fPQave9G2ol-sic-MgGu4VI6sBcc6i8lIwHuYSJF2zvmli3U/s1600/tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsVjkjOz4Ib_NiKmqTY5DwcAtcVtWmebt4tHTOPQjZG8I505kSMObXuGJznZYeruZg1p4Y3AywFpj5tJ-Q9rswwPiDy7fPQave9G2ol-sic-MgGu4VI6sBcc6i8lIwHuYSJF2zvmli3U/s1600/tiger.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a>Most visits to this blog come from people searching for tiger beer clones. I’ve referenced it a couple of times, including one previous attempt at the beer, which worked really well. It was mooched from the Dave Line ‘Brew beers like those you buy’ book, with a change here or there (not necessarily because I know what I’m doing, or anything). The first attempt worked quite well, the second was infected, and for Ms Homebrew, the third attempt will be ready in the new year.<br />
<br />
This is a 'lite' lager beer, of the kind found in Asia and thereabouts. </div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3kg Lager Malt (Pilsner malt)</div>
500g flaked rice<br />
300g Carapils or similar<br />
200g Acid malt<br />
Recommended, 200-500g of rice husks or oat husks, as the mash Will be slow to run off. <br />
<br />
Mashed in for a rest around 55<sup>o</sup>c for 30 mins, followed by the main rest at 66<sup>o</sup>c for one hour, in 10 litres of soft water.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Boil: </div>
Hallertaur Helsbrucker (2.8%): 25g, 11 IBU<br />
Dana (Super Styrian) (10.8%): 7g, 11 IBU<br />
<br />
Flavour, Hall. Hersb., 10g @ 15 mins with a dose of Irish Moss<br />
Aroma, Tettnang (German), 10g @ 0 mins.<br />
<br />
Cool and strain.<br />
<br />
This should yield 20 - 22 litres at 1038, which can be fermented with Brewferm Lager yeast, though this time I'm using a sachet of Saflager 34/70 sprinkled into the wort. If you can ferment it at the proper temperatures, do so, otherwise do as you can. Warm is NOT your friend here, though.<br />
<br />
A diacetyl rest (14<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">o</span></sup>c about 3/4 of the way through fermentation) is advisable.<br />
<br />
Tasting notes to follow. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rice & Carapils:</span><br />
<br />
It may seem counterintuitive to use rice flakes to lower the beer's body, and carapils to boost it, but what I'm trying to achieve is a beer with very little malt flavour, but <i>some</i> body. Using rice alone will reduce taste and body, but I can add some body back in with carapils (dextrin malts, etc), and as carapils is also tasteless in the beer, it won't affect the malt flavour balance. In addition, I will use relatively high carbonation to give the impression of body.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mash pH:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most lagers benefit from a little acid malt to help with mash ph, and in spite of having soft water piped into the house I do have to use it in all my brews to help the ph level. I’m quite happy to do this alongside Burton liquor treatments in my Bitters. <br />
<br />
An alternative is to use an acid rest into your mash schedule. It’s at about 35oc (up to 40oc), and should last about 3 hours (or overnight). The acid rest allows the lactobacillus bacteria that are all over your barley malt to flourish for a short period of time, which tends to acidify the liquor. The bacteria don’t make it into the finished beer, though.</div>
<br />
Acid malt, though, has already been through this step. Every 1% added to the grist decreases the mash pH (that is, acidifies) by 0.1; so if your tap water is fairly soft, like ours at pH 6.5, to get it at the perfect pH for efficient enzymatic activity which is below 5.5 I’ve added it at 7.5% of the grist (not recommended over 10%). <br />
<br />
Acid malt is otherwise the same as your pale malt, so decrease the amount of pale malt used appropriately, which will keep your grist ratios in check. Weyermanns' acid malt is from two row barley, so will not add haze, like you might expect from 6row barley.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tasting Notes:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beer is ready, having been lagered at cellar temperature. Hardly lagering at all! After about 3 weeks in the bottle it's nearly perfectly carbonated. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aroma: Moderate Ethyl Hexanoate (apple-y), some floral hops, and a moderate grainy aroma.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Appearance: Straw, ever so slight haze, long lasting rocky white head, with a nice beading carbonation. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flavour: Typically low for a light beer, can taste a little grainy, and a little apple-y. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mouthfeel: Nearly a very light body, with a brisk carbonation (though missing the carbonic bite), and some residual sweetness. Very light bitterness.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Overall Impressions: Some tiny modifications to the recipe and I need to pay more attention to ester production (temperature and pitching rates). Otherwise very good.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is a little residual sweetness, it's medium-light bodied, with a medium high carbonation.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I continued to drink this beer over the course of another month, and the flavour improved dramatically in that time. The yeast cleared up the aetaldehyde (in both this and a Munich Helles I reused it in) and left a delicious and refreshing beer. This beer certainly needed the time to improve and all of a sudden I've gone and run out!</span></span><br />
<br />
This beer won a silver medal at the National Homebrew Competition 2014, run by <a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/">www.nationalhomebrewclub.com</a><br />
<br />brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-82263652760991952302013-06-21T17:35:00.002+01:002013-06-27T14:30:07.669+01:00Dana (Super Styrian) hopThere's not much about this hop online, I presume because it's relatively new.<br />
<br />
So, exclusively, my take.<br />
<br />
Dana, a super Styrian, high alpha hop from Slovenia. 10.9% alpha acids.<br />
Bred from Hallertau and Magnum in the Slovenia hop research centre. <br />
<br />
Fantastic bitterness, very gentle but prominent all the same. As a late and dry hop it imparts a minty/herbal character. Not unpleasant, but not what you'd expect from the lemony aroma when the pack is opened. Similarly, the cat-like aroma that the oxidised hops exhibit doesn't carry over into the finished beer.<br />
<br />
I made a Dana / Vienna SMaSH, with Brewferm lager yeast, and I was very impressed with the bitterness, and although the mintiness wasn't exactly what I was expecting, neither was it unpleasant. I'll be brewing an English style bitter with it soon enough, but with Goldings of some sort for the late hops.<br />
<br />
To conclude: if you like minty/herbal, go for it. Very gentle bitterness.<br />
Beers to try: Arbor Single Hop Dana, Acorn Dana IPA and Itchen Valley Danabrewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-47909902742669768102013-02-22T11:20:00.000+00:002013-12-03T19:39:21.006+00:00Home-brewed Tiger Beer – All Grain:<span style="font-size: large;">And a bit about mash pH.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most visits to this
blog come from people searching for tiger beer clones. I’ve
referenced it a couple of times, including one previous attempt at
the beer, which worked really well. It was mooched from the Dave Line
‘Brew beers like those you buy’ book, with a change here or there
(not necessarily because I know what I’m doing, or anything). The
first attempt worked quite well, I’m pleased to say: a little light
for my palate, but it was for Ms Homebrew really, and it suited her
nicely.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So for the second
January in a row, I’m bottling a batch, which started life as
follows:</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3kg Pale Malt (Maris
Otter, not lager malt)</div>
700g flaked rice<br />
300g Acid malt<br />
<br />
Mashed at about 67oc
for a ludicrously long time, in 10.8 litres of water.<br />
Take a chill pill here,
as the sparged goods are prone to sticking. You could add rice hulls here though, to make it easier.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hops:
</div>
Hallertaur Helsbrucker
(4.1%): Boil 40g, 15min 15g, 2min 15g<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
From that I got
22litres at 1038, which was fermented with Brewferm Lager yeast with
a starter in our cold house while we were away over Christmas, and
it’s very likely to have reached lagering temperatures.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mash pH:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Most lagers benefit
from a little acid malt to help with mash ph, and in spite of having
soft water piped into the house I do have to use it in all my brews
to help the ph level, and I’m quite happy to do this even alongside
Burton water treatments in my pale ales. Alternatively, if you’re a
prepared kind of person, stick an acid rest into your mash schedule.
It’s at about 35oc (up to 40oc), and should last between 3 hours to
overnight. The acid rest allows the lactobacillus bacteria that are
all over your pale malt to flourish for a short period of time, which
tends to acidify the liquor. The bacteria don’t make it into the
finished beer, though.</div>
<br />
Acid malt has already
been through this step and then redried for you to use. Adding this
to the grist decreases the mash pH (that is, acidifies) by 0.1 for
every 1% of the grist. So if your tap water is fairly soft, like
ours, at pH 6.5, to get it below 5.5 I’ve added it at 7.5% of the
grist (not recommended over 10% apparently). It was VERY acidic! My
litmus papers from <a href="http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/beer-wine-equipment-testing-c-2_32.html" target="_blank">thehomebrewcompany.ie</a> only go down to 5.2, and I
don’t think I’m using them right anyway. Acid malt is otherwise
the same as your pale malt, so decrease the amount of pale malt used
appropriately, which will keep your grist ratios in check.
<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don’t think I’ll
be entering this into the <a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/" target="_blank">National Homebrew Club</a> competition, even
though it is probably going to be amazing; all I need for this beer
is a thumb’s up from the missus.</div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-52304775210064656282013-01-07T12:18:00.000+00:002013-03-04T12:47:35.695+00:00Hobgoblin Plus<strong><em>Note: this beer won Silver Medal in the </em>Milds, Bitters and Ales<em> category in the National Homebrew Club competition on 2nd March 2013.</em></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This morning I’ve put
on the biggest mash <i>ever</i>!</span> I have a very limited mash and
sparge capacity, and the 24l coolbox is something I’m looking into
getting, as it can keep 20-odd litres of mash hot for hours, if
necessary. For now I’m still working with 10l mayonnaise tubs with
holes drilled through. Not particularly efficient, it’s got to be
said; so all my recipes are currently worked up to account for only
60% efficiency. Which mean mashing a lot of grain. I mashed 6 kg,
which needed nearly 20l of water. You don’t need to be a
mathematician to see it won’t all fit in at once.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then, by misreading the
recipe (it is morning, after all) I added more amber malt than I’d
called for. If you’re familiar with the Hobgoblin clone recipe
that’s going around (I’m sort of following Orfy’s), then you’ll
see that <i>any</i> amber malt is too much. But it was going out of
date, and I hadn’t got a chance to use it properly (the only recipe
I tried it in was undrinkable because of the obscene amount of DMS
present). It’s going to be an interesting beer. It’s also going
to be about 6% and barrelled (in an old youngs white thing) for the
rest of the winter months, and for a final experiment, I’m going to
add gelatine finings to it, to see if I can get it clear a little
quicker. It’ll also make it technically illegal for vegetarians to
drink, which is such a pity…</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Apart from all that
it’s a standard all-grain, all-hassle brew.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I’ve found a friendly
neighbourhood farmer who’s willing to take the grain off my hands.
Though they specialise in organic, and because I don’t use organic
ingredients they have to give it to the cat, or something, but it
means I don’t have it hanging around unnecessarily. Hops, though.
What to do with them?</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The beer finally landed
in at 6.1%, and after a week it had plenty of condition and was MUCH
clearer that it would have been had I not fined it. I’ll definitely
use gelatine again for the keg, as it was cheap and easy to use, at
one sachet per 4.5 gallons. Also, the 300g or so of amber malt, which
did taste very obnoxious after one week, did mellow out nicely in the
second.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Next time I’ll use
more hops for aroma (still not sure what I’m doing wrong there),
and until I get a bigger mash tun, I’ll be reverting to half
extract and half mash, as it’s a lot more manageable.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong>Finally though, to some
positives:</strong></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
1: Don’t be afraid to
substitute a half pound of acid malt for a half pound of pale malt
(or add an acid rest to your mash schedule), as it vastly improves
efficiency if your mash ph as so far been a bit high (that’s
alkaliny).
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
2: Gelatine finings are
dead easy to use (better for a homebrewer than the fish finings, as
it’s so easy to store and prepare).</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
3: If you have a cheapo
Young’s white beer/cider barrel, put a short length of tube over/in
the tap, as it makes dispensing a breeze. Today’s hangover was
entirely due to enjoying pouring the beer so much that I repeated the
experience <i>ad nausem</i>, so to speak. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
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Pictures to follow, once Blogger behaves itself.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<em> Next up – Dave
Line’s Tiger Beer 1038!</em></div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-15047662952817260012012-12-04T16:59:00.001+00:002012-12-04T16:59:07.456+00:00Post Brewlab BeerIt's been a month since I set off for windswept Sunderland to learn how to make my beer a little bit better. A whole month! Seems like only yesterday. Having said that, it's lucky they sent us home with the notes, as there was too much information for 20 drinkers to completely absorb. <br />
<br />
If you have a wort chiller, the next bit doesn't apply!<br />
<br />
The main issue for me is DMS (Dimethylsulphide), which is a taste/aroma compound which makes the beer taste and smell of cabbage, or overcooked sweetcorn. It can be present in small amounts and affect people's drinking pleasure differently. For me, though, not nice. So, after brewlab, have I got rid of it?<br />
<br />
Well, in short, so far, yes! And thank God too, because it was ruining my beer. It was all about the cooling. The precursor to DMS compounds can be found in malted barley, and aggravated into existence during mashing, but then evaporated during a long rolling boil, to below noticeable amounts. Which is great. No problems then. <br />
<br />
The DMS compounds continue to form, however, as the wort cools down, and longer cooling periods, as used by myself with no way of chilling the wort, can bring the levels of DMS back up to <em>really</em> noticeable levels! So, although I don't have a cooling coil yet, it's on the list. I did, though, manage to maneuver the hot copper into a sink with cold water, which made short work of bringing the temperature down to about 60oc. Now we'll have to see after fermentation is complete if that was enough! <br />
<br />
The recipe was for my usual Golden ale, which means that in spite of all the hops, there's no room to hide any unruly smells. <br />
<br />
No pictures with this one, as I couldn't take a picture of the smell. Maybe in another couple of years.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-24789393247804747482012-11-06T19:31:00.000+00:002012-11-06T19:36:11.523+00:00Brewlab EducationAnd it's back to college for a few days! <br />
<br />
I've been booked on the course since June, but I never thought it'd come around. But now I'm here, I can't believe I'm already halfway through! I've just finished the second day of the 3 day plus one Startup Brewery course at Brewlab Ltd, and it's basically sorted out <em>all</em> of my problems, from mash efficiency to those funny off-aromas, without even bothering to <em>try</em> one of my beers!<br />
<br />
Firstly, the course took twenty of us (some home brewers, some not), through the brewing process from start to finish, and funny enough, they started with the brewing liquor, or water-what-you-make-beer-with, starting with the treatments in order to keep the beer in character and style with the original, and also in order to increase the mash efficiency, by adjusting the pH of the liquor. So that's the first thing I'll need, some litmus paper. <br />
<br />
Then Arthur took us through the recipe compilation, using the <sup>o</sup>l scale, which measure's the malts potential extract, and will more than likely lead to much more accurate predictions of O.G., or the amount of fermentable sugar I can expect in my wort (pronounced wert, apparently, even in a thick Geordie accent). Out with Imperial, in with Metric. Sigh.<br />
<br />
Arthur also casually pointed out that my DMS problem (smells like teen bedroom) comes from not chilling the wort quickly enough (or at all, in my case, as I usually let it cool down over a period of hours). Unpicking my brewing experience with one casual casual question: how do you cool down your wort?<br />
<br />
The rest, all equally important, but numerous, will all be addressed soon. Some will be addressed at relatively little expense, some will likely cost more. Dr Thomas advocated getting a little more familiar, if not downright voyerstic, with yeast. Buy a microscope. I think Santa will be busy picking through 400x magnification Haemotologists microscopes in the Argos catalogue this month! <br />
<br />
So, two more days to go, so much to learn, and so little time. You can see some gaps in your knowledge fill up, while watching others burst open, as you realise how much there is yet to learn! Early to bed tonight then... well, I'll just 'sample' this one more pint!brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-33666041294005770692012-09-18T19:42:00.002+01:002012-09-19T14:20:11.299+01:00Harvest Ale #1<span style="font-size: large;">Fresh hopped Harvest Pale ale:</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c_zM_xsMeR4YYVSiE79GCPpFGmNgbWAe2V66DAFbfMFNkzLIGCgALxOyVhVSg80050X82AEkZovigBP1BsS5FvX9osMhs9GfxcER6_FshDsNffPVCmSZoPMMkHuSgpMS_PxCvgruoYA/s1600/hopinscales.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c_zM_xsMeR4YYVSiE79GCPpFGmNgbWAe2V66DAFbfMFNkzLIGCgALxOyVhVSg80050X82AEkZovigBP1BsS5FvX9osMhs9GfxcER6_FshDsNffPVCmSZoPMMkHuSgpMS_PxCvgruoYA/s320/hopinscales.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5oz, on the button.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It feels like ages ago that I got excited about the first hop shoots nuzzling at the surface of the soil. Now they’re drawing the attention of the council’s planning department! So, after nearly 5 months, I can finally reap the rewards of months of doing nothing; it’s basically looked after itself. Well, ok, I did rig up a zig-zag of Poundland plant wire, but that’s about it. The regular watering thing that plants seem to like wasn’t labour intensive this year, thank you Gulf Stream, and although I did manage to throw on some tomato feed once or twice, it was only because I was feeling guilty about having done, frankly, nothing. But now I’ve a brew day to plan. Some sort of pale ale should prove a hearty canvas for the piney Nugget hops I’ll be harvesting from the one bull-bine. Only one bine flowered, so I’ll probably only have quarter of a pound of wet hops at best, but lesson learned for next year: cut back all bull shoots, not just some. Success favours the brave. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKe3PPUr25hgFRzus-KwBaj-0GisKMdviS-hLayonFk7T2q9y-2XWDK7EtRJus-1epZpbRE_E_n0738psxPN0vyO8es71citznjl0UZJYI5XEFTjTki6oIdv8Av7F_PrCtibjKJy03WA/s1600/hopandcoin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKe3PPUr25hgFRzus-KwBaj-0GisKMdviS-hLayonFk7T2q9y-2XWDK7EtRJus-1epZpbRE_E_n0738psxPN0vyO8es71citznjl0UZJYI5XEFTjTki6oIdv8Av7F_PrCtibjKJy03WA/s200/hopandcoin.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're <em>all</em> perfect.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The pale will be 2lbs maris otter, 1oz crystal & 1oz wheat, and ¼ oz Northdown (bitter) per 5 ounces of fresh hops. Thinking about it, it’s probably too much, as the equivalent is about 5oz aroma hops in a 5-gallon brew (fresh hops weigh between 4 and 6 times more wet than when dried). Though after consulting the forums where it seems that more is more, more might be enough. Besides, it will be easily spread over the last twenty minutes of the boil. <br />
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor;">
So on Harvest Ale eve, about three weeks later than the microbrewers who were at the Kent harvests, and nearly a week later than some Dublin homebrewers (I’m quite far north, have I said?), I finally set the alarm clock for an interesting brew day. I haven’t dreamt about homebrew yet, but if it’s going to happen, it’ll be tonight. </div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Harvest Day: 18-09-2012 </span></div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzg6Ta2g2CAqaBjo-CqlDR_wXYCMsoa6mKp2ZsFlO-R8sjxlMv8LHOyDn6SSuQWcivkg9oZ3hCOFaF9-1eSSi5LpPaDuiiYOIOQPEEQIk129mri2CPn0XOkVHe9O5hKAGVY3Awl-EmASg/s1600/steamyhops.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzg6Ta2g2CAqaBjo-CqlDR_wXYCMsoa6mKp2ZsFlO-R8sjxlMv8LHOyDn6SSuQWcivkg9oZ3hCOFaF9-1eSSi5LpPaDuiiYOIOQPEEQIk129mri2CPn0XOkVHe9O5hKAGVY3Awl-EmASg/s320/steamyhops.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot, hot, hop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="border: currentColor;">
Woke up to a wet and windy day, and thanks to some sort of bizarre cold, absolutely no sense of smell - hardly conducive to a morning of brewing with fresh hops! </div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
The first thing to do was to measure up the hops, so I knew how much of what to make. As it turned out, my estimate was spot on: 5 ounces of fresh hops. So I set half a gallon of water to heat up, and mashed in the malts. I left it, checking occasionally that it was at the upper end of the 60s (temperature, that is). Then, sparge, boil, and in with ¼ ounce of Northdown hops to bitter the pale ale. Once the wort had been boiling for 40 minutes I begun to add small handfuls of fresh hops and became frustrated at how little I could smell! Was it the lack of hop oils? Was it the small quantity of hops being added? Or was it, hopefully, the absence of my olfactory senses for the day? </div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
The whole with went into a glass demijohn at 1045, which wasn’t far off estimate, and then in with some yeast from a couple of weeks ago. It’s not fermenting yet, but with any luck by this evening there should be a krauseny mess all over the living room floor. </div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSloGn6xOZDQsdoSvMOZYQv9t13zXttp8ewFFNKaB1lFyJpzAzm0H-0NXU8V7Mniab35nDH1v8XayU3-sKcMtd-OLu6o_nQ5cKVkys3-h8uZPr1RYh8Gix6_YDisDPndgqVQVBqWaOZ0/s1600/palelayers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSloGn6xOZDQsdoSvMOZYQv9t13zXttp8ewFFNKaB1lFyJpzAzm0H-0NXU8V7Mniab35nDH1v8XayU3-sKcMtd-OLu6o_nQ5cKVkys3-h8uZPr1RYh8Gix6_YDisDPndgqVQVBqWaOZ0/s320/palelayers.JPG" width="223" /></a>There’s very little I can do now, for a couple of weeks, except the usual bottle palaver. However, in a couple of weeks there will be an honest appraisal of the beer, but in the meantime, there’s bound to be an update on the next beers up, namely: </div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: currentColor;">
#4, a hoppy golden ale, with a fantastic citrus aroma, </div>
Chocolate and Passionfruit Porter, which may or may not be a stroke of genius, <br />
WHT Tayleur’s dried Rowanberry brown ale, and finally, <br />
CIDER! If I can get hold of some apples! <br />
<br />
And maybe, by next September, I’ll have both more hops and a hopback to really force in the aroma, sense of smell or not! <br />
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-88991188786084774902012-09-10T15:13:00.002+01:002012-09-10T15:16:36.056+01:00Grow Your Own Hops<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss4z-XSZIEXqthQsY8ggjPdepR3my_qqI4hvSHz0R54MTOK4b_CX19AvUWiIbeYu0znIomUpu6ZbXfgg3MyErZbJ7w7dHCy-wu7qsIsYLebLnzu5WSZOOCSxDmk25RhMxrdlBUtJTHW4j/s1600/hopsmaturesmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss4z-XSZIEXqthQsY8ggjPdepR3my_qqI4hvSHz0R54MTOK4b_CX19AvUWiIbeYu0znIomUpu6ZbXfgg3MyErZbJ7w7dHCy-wu7qsIsYLebLnzu5WSZOOCSxDmk25RhMxrdlBUtJTHW4j/s320/hopsmaturesmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much better than grapes, and loads easier to grow!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I did try to grow and malt my own barley, last year. This year I'm letting that go to the professionals. However, I <em>am</em> sucessfully growing my own hops. And to help anyone else trying to do the same, or wishing to, read this:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.gyohops.blogspot.ie/" target="_blank">www.gyohops.blogspot.ie</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nMDHvQlQZjrCB9fe5oCqkHhq61-BX6sszkXvbMr7UWVm6CrGjcx4-Gs1Lp17t1-Xh0_pTRlw3TpvlEyF71KFGAsAusW7s72OoPfm37hAay-rfPUH3Iz4SR2A-9cBdExjrELeNGOXCTxw/s1600/earlyhopstalk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nMDHvQlQZjrCB9fe5oCqkHhq61-BX6sszkXvbMr7UWVm6CrGjcx4-Gs1Lp17t1-Xh0_pTRlw3TpvlEyF71KFGAsAusW7s72OoPfm37hAay-rfPUH3Iz4SR2A-9cBdExjrELeNGOXCTxw/s200/earlyhopstalk2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Within this new, small site you'll find much of the information needed to buy, grow, harvest dry and brew. It's a great aside to the homebrew hobby (sorry, not hobby, um... art), and when I harvest later this week I'm sure it'll prove to be a worthwhile one too. </div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I hope the information proves useful or inspiring: and if <em>I</em> can grow hops way up where I'm living, then anybody can anywhere. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.gyohops.blogspot.ie/" target="_blank">http://www.gyohops.blogspot.ie/</a> </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-1584420451365198332012-09-06T16:43:00.000+01:002012-09-06T16:43:35.161+01:00Wet hopping . . . So, a malt order has been placed and the hops are so nearly ready to harvest. I've been following Paul Corbett from Charles Faram hop merchants on <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesFaram" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and they've had their first harvest down in south-east England somewhere, so I figure I can leave it a week or two yet, up here in a north-westerly part of Ireland, with emphasis on north.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATHxdETGVUtJvxNw4YIUSboLCGaVb2aYgZlKzlh7Mw4EaTyjUDnC2RcBxY2mfrc4_EOvG8T6KYbbDDmfGG6R8dzP2wO3K5NZyOyaSw7xRKh6rFXGUfGTeqIyNTaKjhiCs4jLocQ4Po8Q/s1600/littlehopcones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATHxdETGVUtJvxNw4YIUSboLCGaVb2aYgZlKzlh7Mw4EaTyjUDnC2RcBxY2mfrc4_EOvG8T6KYbbDDmfGG6R8dzP2wO3K5NZyOyaSw7xRKh6rFXGUfGTeqIyNTaKjhiCs4jLocQ4Po8Q/s320/littlehopcones.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The early stages of hop cone formation. We're a bit on from there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The hops I'll be using will be Goldings for bitterness (bought), and the home-grown Nugget cones for my taste and aroma additions. The internet thinks I'll need to add 4 or five times more hops by weight than if I were using dry hops, so the batch size will largely depend on the crop, which while better than last year, is not a prizewinner! <br />
<br />
So check back soon for a post about extra-hopping a kit beer (John Bull IPA), and then some time after that for the wet-hop experiment, which will go something like this:<br />
<br />
7lbs pale, 1/2lb crystal, some goldings to the tune of 30-odd IBU, then nugget additions at 15, 10, 5 and 0 mins of the boil. I'll probably bottle the batch as I want to show it off (nobody <em>ever</em> visits the house for barrelled beer) so I won't be dryhopping. I'll ferment with whatever's spare in the fridge, really. <br />
<br />
Hope that's the appetite whetted. And thanks be to the brew gods that 70% of the Irish grain harvest has been saved! Hurrah! - <span style="font-size: x-small;">courtesy of Aertel at 2am.</span>brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-23234062065217457452012-08-07T19:46:00.001+01:002013-12-03T19:40:17.417+00:00Another Irish Red AleI've just used up my last 5lbs of pale malt, so that's the last brew-day for a while. So, what do you brew when you know you've only one brew left? Could it be an Oat Stout, seeing as how there's some Oat Malt left over from the beer I'll be posting about soon? Or maybe a small batch of IPA, seeing as how there's lots of Goldings left over from that beer I just hinted at? No, we'll go with another Irish Red Ale. <br />
<br />
The last post loosely describes making my last Irish Red, which can't be that long ago as I've still two-dozen bottles left, so why brew another? Well, apart from the fact that I like it, the last one actually tastes more like a British Mild Ale, which isn't what I wanted. I want RED, with all the caramel and roast flavours, but I chickened out of adding in enough roasted barley into the brew, and ended up with a very simple ale.<br />
<br />
Next up for a blog post is the last brew I did, which is a very old recipe for a Yorkshire Oat Ale. How will it turn out? Who knows. I'm worried it'll end up as expensive drain-cleaner, but you never know. <br />
<br />
That's it for now. Nothing exciting happened during the making of the red ale, unless you count pouring the wort into the fermenter, realising that you forgot to add Irish Moss into the brew kettle, and pouring it all back in again for another 15 minute boil! I took it as a sign from the Brew Gods, and added another half ounce of hops for their pleasure.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-91124603763620745362012-07-06T11:39:00.002+01:002012-07-06T11:39:49.525+01:00A brew-day in pictures:<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The following is a <i>Daily Mirror-</i>esque photo-casebook.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58ZkvtFAE8oKHc3P7EB7LhoujdnynN5GxxqrViSnpdiTtLpEcIczDCI6ZkNh2THtYLtvjTM3m6_7_C_kPYb3DphetlcfWV2oM_CvyAzS0RcKtw_-wYGFtnvwRIgM3wre4xVsnZzBhTDE/s1600/notebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58ZkvtFAE8oKHc3P7EB7LhoujdnynN5GxxqrViSnpdiTtLpEcIczDCI6ZkNh2THtYLtvjTM3m6_7_C_kPYb3DphetlcfWV2oM_CvyAzS0RcKtw_-wYGFtnvwRIgM3wre4xVsnZzBhTDE/s200/notebook.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The recipe for Smithish (Irish Red Ale)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to make two identical Irish Red Ales, then ferment with two different yeasts: Mauribrew Ale Yeast and Nottingham Ale Yeast . This way I’ll have lots of beer <i>and</i> I’ll be able to make more informed decisions regarding yeast the next time I want to brew something. Every day’s a school day.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m using the same<a href="http://www.homebrewindonegal.blogspot.ie/2011/04/kids-come-down-cider-ready.html" target="_blank"> recipe as Smithish</a>, adjusted to all-grain, as the original used dried malt extract. Also, I don’t like faff, so whatever the original proportions was, they’re now rounded up to the nearest pound (lb). Also, the hops are different, and there’re more of them. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ubiquitous photo of hand <br />
and task.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve also taken this learning opportunity to take photographs of the brew-day. There are loads of pictures, though only a one is actually of brewing. Most blogs have lots of pictures, and, frankly, my hand pouring in hops is the same as your hand pouring in hops, so I’ve added pictures which give a little more of the ‘character’ of the brewing session, as opposed to step-by-steps. That’s why there’s a picture of my fridge door, my recipe book (which will fetch a fortune on eBay one day) and some other bits and bobs. And seeing as I brew beer when I have the house to myself, any action shots only happen when I’ve a hand free. That means putting the beer down.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the brew’s in the bucket. Having measured the starting gravity (and accounting for hydrometer error at high temperature) I’m disappointed with the result; it looks like my mash efficiency is between fifty-five and 60%. I buy the malt ready milled, the first area to look at with low efficiency, so maybe I’ll invest in something one day. I followed Charlie Papazian’s half gallon/lb or grain sparge too, which is much more than I’d normally use, and still poor extract. Well, never mind. 3.5 – 4 % ABV isn’t strong, but it’ll be a nice drink. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heat seeking missiles, cats.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final picture is of my latest golden ale, sunbathing. The books and beer reviews all talk about light-struck beer. What is it? Well, that’s explained in the book. What does it smell or taste like? That, too, is in the book. It smells like a skunk. Brilliant. I’ll just pop down to the local field and sniff a skunk. So, I bottled some very hoppy golden ale in a clear bottle and on the first sunny day I sat it in the sunniest spot (just look for a cat). So, after 30 minutes on the windowsill and an hour or so in the fridge, it’s ready to drink. Now I think I know what sunstruck is. It seems to be that lovely burnt, nutty flavour I originally associated with pale-malt-only beers. I was wondering how to recreate it in a recipe, as I actually quite like it. No accounting for taste, I suppose.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, that’s why I don’t take pictures.</span></span></div>
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</div>brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-77471069874530586082012-06-20T20:21:00.000+01:002012-06-20T20:28:46.535+01:00Hello... testing... is this thing on?<br />
<br />
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Right, I'm back, though only for a bit. I've run out of ingredients again, so.<br />
<br />
I've been brewing at home under the assumption that, having done about 20 successful brews, the 21st, 2nd and third would all go swimmingly. I rushed through the last couple, all proud of myself, only to discover, upon opening a much-anticipated Irish Red Ale that I had some sort of yeast infection. It's not something you want to find you've got, but to find one in your beer is just awful. <br />
<br />
When your uncle catches you smoking, and thinks that the best lesson would be to make you smoke a full packet, or worse, a cigar*, then the best lesson learnt in the homebrew situation is to pour away over 5 gallons of booze. It makes you <em>very</em> careful.<br />
<br />
So, now I'm drinking either nettle ale (with a lager yeast, so I suppose it's nettle lager), some dodgy Irish Red Ale (the infection seemed to have 'cleared up', and after more than a month in the bottle the DMS cabbagy smell is much diminished), and in about 4 days a fantastic golden ale. How do I know it's fantastic if it's not ready for another four days? Well, I can never really wait. It's good.<br />
<br />
Actually, I'm being quite calm and philosophical about the down-the-pan thing. After all, I didn't know what a bad batch of beer was. It's all about learning. I definitely didn't cry.<br />
<br />
That's it for now, nettle ale recipe coming up soon.<br />
<br />
* of course that never happened to me, but I heard tell of ones to whom it did. I was never caught.brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417080024849557609.post-65491388140306029642012-04-09T15:05:00.004+01:002012-04-09T15:13:35.361+01:00The New Style- Irish Black Ale<div><div>Let me be the first to unveil a new beer style, the Irish Black Ale. No, it’s not a stout, and for some reason it’s not Irish Red Ale either. I used the same, small, amount of chocolate and roasted malt as the last red ale, but for some reason, it’s just come out black. It might clear up after fermentation…</div><div> <img style="margin: 5px 5px 10px 10px; width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729402986749376498" border="0" alt="Probably the Best Cold Break in the World" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RR9E0Qmn1e11vaUWfWASpCe0dFM72qy8GKqWDLMbVNH1llUrOPRsQBD8344qCdA5QDp3SOW2nYMqizbmCSw58tx3uHooAkY-kaS0G_MdxqDZ5LOQU3hq2m2yfp7wMKKvvKNNK8nAFY8/s200/coldbreak.JPG" /></div><div>I think I qualify as a small brewery now. After St. Patrick’s day I brewed another golden ale, which has been kegged. Unfortunately the plastic barrel’s CO2 valve leaks the wrong way, so I’ve had to replace it with a nut and bolt. Now the beer’s nicely conditioned, but if I’ve put too much sugar in the keg, it’ll explode. Better drink it quick.</div><div> </div><div>After the golden ale, I brewed up another; a 2 gallon batch of strong ale. The reason being, I wanted to see if you could recycle hops. I calculated that the amount of hops I’d have after the golden ale would make a second beer very bitter, so I made it very strong. I mean, if you assume that in a one-hour boil you use 30% of the alpha acids, that leaves 70% acids… well, it doesn’t seem to work like that. My green credentials remain intact, but my brewing credentials, less so. The old ale is basically stewed malt extract. No bitterness whatsoever.</div><div> </div><div>Then a quick Irish red. No, Irish black, sorry. Most of the wort was boiled with some Northdown, while a very little extra was boiled with a lot of Magnum hops. This extra has been added to the strong ale mentioned above to put some bitterness back in. It’s still fermenting away, which is nice to see, in two demijohns. Hopefully the finished product will be more balanced.</div><div> </div><div>How great to have manipulated my way through all these difficulties- <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINOWU5lRHFMTnZo9rjJMJMIo2Nnp_38l1v691OiH9YuTtk3FgxUBzkuA3Ayofm-7kLREc4kh49C-7NPLOarNIXOJZ0K6pGC6Bk6ZfH2KvJaUsmo-maeDe1CX8U30wTtoBHt-w1uAv-7c/s1600/starter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 150px; height: 200px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729402984050521762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINOWU5lRHFMTnZo9rjJMJMIo2Nnp_38l1v691OiH9YuTtk3FgxUBzkuA3Ayofm-7kLREc4kh49C-7NPLOarNIXOJZ0K6pGC6Bk6ZfH2KvJaUsmo-maeDe1CX8U30wTtoBHt-w1uAv-7c/s200/starter.jpg" /></a>the underbittered beer, the broken keg, brewing two beers in one afternoon- only to be thwarted by a distinct lack of yeast! I was so sure I had one more sachet left. Lots of bakers yeast, but no brewers yeast. Fortunately I did keep some back in a bottle. I intended using it for another beer, but needs must. Anyway, lessons learnt. </div><div> </div><div>By the way, Nestea and Lucozade bottles make perfect starter bottles, as the opening is the same size as those handy rubber bungs. I wouldn’t need to know this if I’d kept track of how much yeast I’d used.</div></div>brewyourownbeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13980429090319872343noreply@blogger.com0